Boo&Stu BLOG:

A simple guide to logo design & how it helps define your brand

A logo is often people's first point of contact with any organisation's brand, so we thought we'd take some time to share our thoughts on why a logo is so important and what makes a good one…

Why your logo is so important to your brand identity

A 'brand' is of course so much more than a visual logo, but it's amazing how much impact and difference a logo alone can make to people's perception of any brand.

Your logo is often the very first element of your brand or organisation that people will encounter and it's something people will use to make very swift judgements about what you are all about and whether they want to engage with you or not.

A brand logo's real power lies of course in its visual nature. People recognise and relate to images much quicker than words. A well designed logo gives you the best opportunity to take full advantage of this. Because of this, a well designed logo that encapsulates your brand should therefore be considered a very important asset indeed.

A well designed logo should:

Communicate the essence of your company quickly and effectively

Start to tell your story, reflect your tone of voice, your values and your business as a whole

Help you to stand out from your competitors

Attract new customers by communicating your strengths

Help you keep existing customers by reassuring them they're going to get a consistent quality of service again and again

Work well in all situations, across all platforms and touchpoints for a consistent user experience – for example, from your website and social media, to print, merchandise and shop or office front

Make you feel proud and want to show it to the world!

A poorly designed logo on the other hand can:

Communicate things you don't want it to

Fail to communicate with the audience you intend it to

Make your brand look out of date, out of touch, untrustworthy, unconsidered, unreliable and even unprofessional

Work poorly and become illegible in key situations

Feel inconsistent with your brand, especially when used inconsistently in different formats in different situations (such as your website and print work)

Embarrass you if you don't feel proud of it, especially when you need to hand out your business cards!

A logo is more than just a logo... it can bring your brand to life

Great logos are something that need to be designed with great care by someone who has taken the time to understand your brand and your audience fully, and has the skills, knowledge and experience to visually communicate what you want to say to your audience. They are the result of a combination of careful research, design experience and, most importantly, the designer asking the right questions to make sure they get to the heart of your brand, your audience, what you want to communicate, and where the logo will be used.

A good logo designer will be able to bring your brand to life.

In a recent article in Design Week Fred Gelli, creator of the iconic Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic branding, was asked about why it’s so important to bring brands to life, and we think what he says is spot on:

"The best logos are the ones which connect deeply with the soul of the business... an identity is more than just a logo – it's an attitude. This is much more subtle and complex [than just creating a graphic symbol], but getting this right will also help with brand recognition. Brands must be authentic in their relationship with people, and create an experience."

It's also important to remember that your brand logo should not necessarily be about your personal preferences or what you 'like'. Although it's important that you're proud of your brand logo, the most important thing is that it communicates your brand's personality and vision effectively in a way that your target customers can relate to – always think of your audience. For example, just because your favourite colour is purple doesn't mean it's necessarily the best choice of colour for the logo of your architectural business.

If you already have any particular symbols, colours or fonts in mind for your logo, think about the underlying ideas they represent, how they might visually express your brand's ethos, and what feelings they evoke. This is where creativity, intuition and logic can sit hand in hand, but it's usually not a simple process, and a good designer can help you to develop these ideas in different directions that you probably would never have even thought of.

What you need to think about when planning your logo

The first step to creating a successful brand logo happens before you even start thinking about the visual logo design itself. It involves thinking about your business or organisation and really pinning down things like:

What your brand is about

What your core values are

What is the story behind your brand

Who your audience are / who are your key target users

What you want to say to your audience

What your tone of voice should be

Where exactly the brand logo is going to be used.

If you already have an existing logo you need to check:

If it represents your current core values

If it connects with your current audience

If it us used consistently and works well across all platforms (e.g., website, mobile, social media, print).

If the answer to any of these questions is no then it's most certainly time to redesign or refresh your logo.

Do you need a new logo or does your current logo need some TLC?

Boo&Stu love designing logos and have many years experience designing brand identities for a wide range of clients throughout the UK.

As well as knowing the right questions to ask you in order to establish exactly what you want to say and to who, we can ascertain the best combinations of colours, shapes and typefaces that will communicate the essence of your company effectively to your target audience. This together with our creativity, craftsmanship and excellent eye for detail means that you'll get a custom made logo that will enable you to get the best possible results and be proud of for years to come – whether you need something designed from scratch or just a refresh.

In addition to this we can help with your overall visual branding, from establishing an extended palette of colours, typefaces and providing style guides for your staff or suppliers, to designing brand assets such as; websites, product packaging, catalogues and merchandise, as well as character design and illustration.

Ready to get started? Download our logo questionnaire

We've put together a questionnaire specifically designed to help you answer some of the questions you need to be asking to ensure you are able to end up with a brilliant logo that will really represent your business and appeal to your customers.

Born in the New Forest and now living in Dorset, Stu graduated from Wimbledon School of Art in 2000 with a degree in Fine Art: Painting. He developed a love for illustration and creating characters, and became a Freelance Designer in 2004 and in 2015 officially combined forces with his Web Designer partner Anna to form Boo&Stu. His work has been featured in magazines and the Victoria and Albert Museum London, and in 2016 Stu launched his first illustrated children's book.